Since 7 October 2024, the world has watched on in agony and in horror as the sharp increase in violence happening within Gaza in the Occupied Palestinian Territories continues to escalate. Yet, nearly 10 months later at the launch of this petition, we are no closer to a ceasefire than we were on Day 1.

According to The Lancet on 5 July 2024, while the official death toll reaches nearly 40,000 people, it is not unreasonable to assume the actual number of causalities is closer to 200,000 Palestinians. The United Nations confirmed on 12 March 2024 that more children had been killed in Gaza since October 2024 than in the last four years of global conflict combined.

If that were not enough, the entirety of Gaza's 2.1 million residents have become internally displaced multiple times as Israel's offensive continues to target civilian areas. There are severe shortages of food, water, and healthcare services. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNWRA), it would take up to 15 years to simply clear away all of the rubble and begin rebuilding Gaza's infrastructure.

This is all absolutely unconscionable, and this is only the tip of a 76-year iceberg.

On 25 March 2024, Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, stated that she believes Israel to be committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. This fact is corroborated by a coalition of over 800 legal scholars specialising in international law and genocide. According to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, genocide is prohibited and states must enforce its prohibition. Israel has both signed and ratified this convention as of 9 March 1950.

On 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that the State of Israel is guilty of committing the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people. According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, apartheid is a crime against humanity.

According to the New York Times, Israeli forces have decimated, as of 6 May 2024, at least 80% of all educational institutions within Gaza. This includes every single university which has either been completely demolished or rendered unusable due to the large amount of damage they have sustained.

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We, the students of Mount Allison University, are gathering faculty, staff, students, and alumni who are appalled at the ongoing man-made humanitarian crisis in Palestine to call upon our institution to join ranks with other universities in raising its voice in support of the Palestinian people. It is high time for our esteemed institution to take a bold stance against such glaring and repeated violations of human rights. 

LET IT BE KNOWN THAT:

Mount Allison University holds $108,686.00 of shares in 44 companies that profit from the Occupation of Palestine according to AFSC Investigate, one of the authoritative sources on divestment. The largest share is $36,897.00 in Cemex (a concrete provider for internationally-recognised illegal settlements) while the smallest share is $12.00 in Elbit (a weapons manufacturer). 

Here's the good news. These holdings account for ONLY 0.065% of MtA’s total endowment. We can, and should, divest without affecting the University at all.

Our short list of demands, then, are as follows:

1. We demand that the University publicly DENOUNCE Israel's ongoing aggression toward the Palestinian people and issue a statement of solidarity in support of a permanent ceasefire.
   
   
2. We demand that the University quickly, fully, and completely DIVEST from corporations that enable and/or facilitate human rights violations through the genocide and occupation of Palestine and beyond.

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According to the University itself:

"The University is committed to promoting awareness of equity, diversity, and inclusion concerns across our entire campus community. Mount Allison affirms the fundamental principle of equality of all peoples, as put forward by the New Brunswick Human Right​s Act (NBHRA), the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the United Nations."

We call upon the University to uphold its lofty commitment to these shared ideas of equality for all peoples around the globe.  Especially regarding the status of our institution as bastion of higher learning, from one university to another, our academia must denounce this complete obliteration of access to higher learning in Gaza, the likes of which haven't been seen since the scorched earth policies of the Korean War.

We welcome, in good faith, any sort of constructive dialogue with the University in order to discuss the full specifics of these demands and find a way forward together in a way that reaffirms the Palestinian peoples' right to life and full equality under international law.

We also understand that Mount Allison is but a bit player in the grander scheme of things. However, collaborative collective action can help bring about positive social change and Mount Allison's voice as the leading undergraduate institution in Canada holds quite a bit of weight.

For any comments, questions, or concerns, please reach out to us at mta4pal@gmail.com. You can also follow our progress on Instagram at @mta4pal. We will respond as quickly as possible. Thank you so much, from the bottom of our hearts, for your time and for supporting this cause.

With eternal gratitude,
The Mount Allison 4 Palestine Team